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Doc
Keeper of the Scrolls


2010 Posts
Posted -  14/06/2004  :  23:17
THE BATTLE OF ELSLACK - OR NOT?
Member Trevor Tattersall gives an alternative view


Some weeks ago several members of our committee received phone calls from a gentleman in Rochdale asking for information on the Roman fort at Elslack which initially appeared quite straightforward but which on further enquiry became curiouser and curiouser….

Apparently this gentleman with some connections to the television documentary field had developed a theory that the battle of Brunanburh (of which more later) had taken place at our local Roman fort and could we help him with any supporting information?

After politely indicating that I felt his theory was unlikely and answering as many questions as I could, I considered the matter closed, but on further reflection and having had mad theories of my own I thought that the question deserved a closer look.

Where had his theory come from? – Whitakers History of Craven in the section on Elslack has two possible sources:-

Dodsworth - MSS. v. 71 “ – Burwen Castle – they say it was besieged and raised by the Danes; there hath been found a bagg full of leather peches which hath been used for money; there hath been found coyne of all years with the plow, and brikes of all colours -.”
Whitakers own note – “Skeletons and a battle-axe have been found within it, and also gold coins; but I have not seen them, and am not able to ascertain to what period they belonged.”

If these are the sources of the theory they are not very conclusive and more concrete information would be needed for proof.

The fort was excavated about 1912 but apart from the remains of the walls, both the original clay and the later masonry rebuild, nothing was found but some cobbled paths in the interior. The excavators concluded that it was an enclosure into which cattle were driven in times of danger !! So no help there.

Now let us turn to the Battle of Brunanburh itself to see if we can glean anything from the historical record.

Although the battle is quite well documented for a Dark Age event , the site has not been identified with any certainty, but may have taken place on the southern border of Northumbria (which at that time covered most of northern Britain) along the Don valley in what is now Yorkshire.

It took place in 937 AD, some 800 years after the fort at Elslack was rebuilt in stone, some 400 years after the Anglo-Saxon invaders landed in Kent and East Anglia, and less than 50 years after the Vikings had landed and established their dominance over the Danelaw covering most of north-eastern Britain.

The king was Athelstan of the West-Saxons, arguably the greatest but not the best-known of the Saxon kings and he was acknowledged as overlord of the many British and Danish sub-kings and earls, having in the previous decade soundly beaten them in battle. Only three years earlier in a campaign lasting some three months or so he had marched with his army from Winchester to just south of Aberdeen to subdue King Constantine and his fellow North British kings and returned home after accepting their homage.

Although other kings had claimed to rule Britain in the past, this was the first time that any could claim to be truly King of England, but not for long…..

Constantine might have been forced to bow the knee to overwhelming force but he was not prepared to let matters rest there. He formed a plan to build a grand alliance of all Athelstan’s opponents but including the Danes of Ireland under Anlaf Guthfrithson of Dublin and the Anglo-Scandinavians of Northumbria led by traditional northerners like Earl Orm and Archbishop Wulfstan of York.

The plan appeared to have been to consolidate their forces in the north and ravage south of the Humber, hoping to attract Danish settlers in the eastern Midlands to their standard. But all these preparations took time and it was Autumn before things really got moving. Anlaf was still in Dublin in early August, press-ganging a pirate fleet into his service. He is reported to have sailed round Scotland in bad weather and high winds to land his forces in the mouth of the Humber but this is disputed by many historians. It would certainly have been more sensible to sail across the Irish Sea to the mouth of the Ribble or the Mersey and to march across to York to join the assembly. Nothing is known of the movements of Idwal and his North Welsh – they may have planned to attack Athelstan’s western flank or may have marched up through Cheshire to join the main army.

Meanwhile, what of Athelstan ? – surprisingly he appeared to do nothing. No doubt his agents in the north would keep him in touch with the progress of events. He would know the size of the forces ranged against him and he would need time to mobilise his army consisting of levies from Wessex (Sussex/Hampshire area) and Mercia (the Midlands area) after the harvest and perhaps he was allowing the northern alliance to exhaust their food supplies. However he did move north to meet the threat in the last quarter of the year but his route is not known for certain. Three years before he advanced through Derby, York, Chester-Le-Street, Edinburgh and Perth. Perhaps he felt that Constantine would expect him to advance along the same traditional route based on the major Roman roads that offered reasonably swift travel even then. Or perhaps he changed his route to take his opponents by surprise.

Whatever route he used, he made a fast attack to confront his enemies at a fort called Brunanburh which was on a hill called ‘Weondun’ (‘holy hill’) where there had been a heathen sanctuary or temple. The battle opened with a dawn attack on the burh by the English fighting in separate armies – West Saxons against the British, Mercians against the Scandinavians – the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes savage hand-to-hand fighting in regular battle order, while the Annals of Ulster say the struggle was ‘immense, lamentable, ahorrible and desperately fought’.

The battle was obviously closely fought between evenly matched opponents but eventually the well-armed troops of the southern English won the day and the beaten northerners were pursued until nightfall, eventually making their way back to their ships. Losses were heavy on both sides but the invading army had been destroyed. Among the northern dead were five kings, including the King of the Western Isles and Owain of Cumbria, seven of Anlaf’s earls and one of Constantine’s sons. Anlaf himself arrived back in Dublin ‘with a few’ early in 938. Thus ended the aspirations of the Celtic British to regain their land from the Saxon invaders and Athelstan was confirmed as the first King of England.

So much for the Battle of Brunanburh – but where was it fought? Geographically the most likely place appears to be somewhere along a line between the Humber and the Ribble, possibly near the Aire Gap which was the traditional cross-Pennine route at the time – note the find of a Viking hoard of silver in the bank of the Ribble dating to a little later in history.

Elslack fort could be a possibility with the finds of gold, battle-axe and skeletons mentioned by Whitaker but it is in the valley bottom rather than on a hill and rather than the siege of a fort, the battle was fought in regular order so I would reluctantly discount it as the most likely site.

However, if we speculate that Athelstan did change his route from that of his Scottish expedition three years earlier and instead of advancing directly on York, he veered off to the west, maybe to intercept the North Welsh and/or the Dublin Vikings, or simply to cross the Pennines through the Aire Gap and attack from the flank. One of the routes he could have used is that known as the Long Causeway running along the shoulder of Upper Calderdale from Halifax towards Burnley. This ancient trackway is now a surfaced road which runs straight through hill pasture above the valley bottom and ends above Burnley significantly of all it passes through an area of earthworks and much disturbed ground looking down into the valley of the River Brun which runs through Burnley to join the Lancashire Calder.

As far as I am aware this area between Worsthorne and Mereclough has not before been suggested as the site of the Battle of Brunanburh, and is probably controversial to say the least, but from what I can deduce, it has as likely a claim as any other site so far advanced.
So maybe our friend from Rochdale was not all that far out in his search for the site of the Battle of Brunanburh – it may be closer to home than he originally thought.

Main sources

History & Antiquities of the Deanery of Craven by T.D.Whitaker
In Search of the Dark Ages by Michael Wood
Author Replies  
bazshar
Regular Member


226 Posts
Posted - 15/06/2004 : 09:21
Very interesting, I cannot add anything worthy of note except to the battle axe reference.
Quite recently I was reading an 18th cent. book which included a chapter/s on Craven Curiosities.
The author reported that one of the Tempest’s of Broughton (Stephen?) had sent in some items.
One of these was a battle-axe, and I think some strange coin.
I did not record the source but I think I know where to look again.
I will check.



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BarrowfordJohn
Regular Member


706 Posts
Posted - 15/06/2004 : 11:45
The most informative and concise account of this event I have read Stanley. I have heard various theories on the battle site from Thursden Valley (the dead being buried at Walton Spire) to Admergill to Brown Hill above Roughlee.Older people in Barrowford used to say that a battle took place in Bell Wood at the base of Brown Hill on Blacko Water but, given the topography, this could have been a Civil War event.There does appear to have been a large oval shaped settlement here.

What do you think about Todber (off the Gisburn/Blacko Road) having a claim? If the name could mean "Death enclosure /camp" then could this area be a possibility. There is a nearby Cross Hill (Holy Hill)?, the site is on a Roman Road and the open aspect of the area would lend itself to a large scale battle. It is also sited where the Craven Gap sweeps through. Wherever the site may be this is certainly a fascinating subject.


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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 16/06/2004 : 06:39
Heyup!! It wasn't me, it was Trevor Tattersall! Credit where it is due. I enjoyed this as well. Whewn I was reading up Pagan/Christian history for my time line I found quite a lot on this battle and another possible location was Bromborough on the Wirral which always looked feasible to me.

The lovely thing about these references from Bede, Guildas etc. is the vaguness of them and the fact that most of it was heavily skewed towards reinforcing the monk's view of ecclesiastical history but they are the earliest written history we have so we are forced to work over it again and again. Good article, stimulating and I really enjoyed it.


Stanley Challenger Graham




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bazshar
Regular Member


226 Posts
Posted - 16/06/2004 : 21:29
Further to my earlier post I have tracked down the reference to a Battle-axe found near Elslack, ¹Thoresby states:

“Amongst the British Curiosities, I had formely placed the Securis Lapidea or rather Marmorea sent to me by Stephen Tempest of Broughton Esq.; but the ingenious Mr Hearne of Oxford hath bestowed a learned disertation upon it (premised to the 4th Vol. Of Leyland’s Itinerary) to prove it rather Danish.

It was found Ad 1675, in an urn ten inches diameter, and therewith a brass Lance and a hone to sharpen it.
The mallet’s head is the most curious and entire that I ever beheld; it is of a speckled marble polished, six inches in length, 31/2 broad, and seven in circumference, even in the middle, where what is wanting in breadth is made up in the thickness, and is very artificially done, as if it had been a Roman Improvement of the British Work.
It is wrought to an edge at one end, though each of them is blunted with use, and a sloping at the side.
………I suppose it to have been a mallet wherewith the Priests slew the Sacrifices, and fancied it to be the ancient British, rather than any later inhabitants of this Island.
….Mr Hearne, who argues that the position of the Urn with the mouth downwards is perculiarly used by the Danes, and that a mallet instead of a Scepter was put into the hand of their famous God Thor.
The lance found in the urn is of brass. Scarce an inch broad, but seems by its tendency to a point to have been three in length .It is sharp enough to shave a Sabine priest.”

I number of other finds were forwarded by Stephen Tempest which included “ brass buckle or Fibula”, and an “iron instrument . Roman Secespita or Danish weapon. … and in four-inch iron spur, found in the digging for the Foundations of a bridge. [This would be C. 1791 when the main Skipton – Clitheroe Road was altered and, Stephen Tempest (1756 – 1824) decided upon the building of a new bridge & improvements in the approaches to Broughton Hall.]

I was wrong no coin was reported as found but the Mallet was referred to as a battle-axe in other paragraphs. None of this of course adds to the original views of Trevor Tattersall.

¹Ducatus Leodiensis, Thoresby Ralph pages 565 – 567.




When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt!Go to Top of Page
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 16/06/2004 : 23:02
When I was running the interpretative team at Pendle Heritage a bloke brought a beautiful stone axe in one day, very highly polished and made of a black speckled stone. It looked ceremonial to me and was completely unmarked. He wouldn't say who he was or where he found it but what enquiries I could make seemed to point to him having found it on a building site near Blacko Bar. All he was interested in was the value and I never heard anything about it again.


Stanley Challenger Graham




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BarrowfordJohn
Regular Member


706 Posts
Posted - 17/06/2004 : 19:20
I have a good idea who this was, why he was evasive and where the item was found. All I can say is that this attitude is prevalent amongst landowners where archaeology is concerned - unfortunately!


Never trust an electrician with no eyebrows!

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Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart


36804 Posts
Posted - 18/06/2004 : 04:17
Mail me and do tell, it's always been a loose end for me because it was a beautiful object and had taken a lot of making. This is why I think it was ceremonial.


Stanley Challenger Graham




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BarrowfordJohn
Regular Member


706 Posts
Posted - 18/06/2004 : 17:40
If I spill the beans I will not be able to roam that area of the Wild West unarmed again! I'll see if I can find out if he still has the item.
On the subject of Brunaburh there is an interesting and fairly in-depth resume on the deremilitari web site at: WWW.deremilitari.org/RESOURCES/ARTICLES/mcdougall.htm

Edited by - BarrowfordJohn on 19 Jun 2004 11:14:47


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